Anything but Love by Beth Ciotta Read Free Book Online Page B

the road, Sam shook his head. “I was wrong about you.”
    Her stomach clenched. “How so?”
    “I didn’t give you enough credit. You’re a warrior, Rae.”
    “Who’d of thunk it,
huh
?” She smiled a little. “Let’s just say I’ve decided it’s time to control life rather than allowing life to control me.”
* * *
    Sam pulled into his driveway, struggling with a tangle of conflicting emotions.
    Had he tipped his hand? Did Rae sense his stubborn infatuation?
    He didn’t want to scare her off. He wanted to win her over.
    When she’d stepped out of that private plane his heart had swelled. Yes, she was more polished than the last time he’d seen her, but the attraction went beyond her new sophisticated style. Through letters and on the phone they’d formed the kind of easy relationship he’d yearned for when she’d been living in Sugar Creek. Something had clicked between them—
genuine friendship,
he thought.
    They could build from there.
    Sam prided himself on being a grounded, rational guy. There was nothing sensible about pining for a woman who had no interest in him sexually. So he’d decided to get proactive. To woo her. Seduce her. Subtly. Based on mutual respect and common interests. Might take some time, but Rae was worth waiting for, worth fighting for. The perfect mother for his children.
    Patience, he’d once told Luke, was not just a virtue, but a weapon.
    The first step was to lure her back to Sugar Creek. He didn’t know a lot about Rae, but he knew she had a gentle heart. He knew her Achilles’ heel. Kids. He knew she’d be concerned about the lack of a local day care facility. And he knew she had a genuine fondness for every member of the Cupcake Lovers. He knew she missed Sugar Creek. She’d said so. So he’d given her a reason to return.
    Sam flexed his hands on the steering wheel and stared through the windshield at his moonlit house, the home he’d built with his wife, Paula. The home in which their two kids now slept. When Paula had died, she’d taken a piece of Sam with her. She’d been his soul mate and he was damned sure he’d never love again.
    Rae gave him hope. She made him feel. Yearn.
    He’d once thought her a tortured soul. He still sensed she was damaged somehow, guarded. The soldier in him wanted to save her. But tonight he’d also gotten a glimpse of her fighting spirit. A quiet confidence. And under and through it all, that gentle heart. The entire package was a turn-on.
    As for his hound-dog cousin, Luke had sworn to Sam that he didn’t have feelings for Rae. That she’d been upset that night and the kiss Sam had walked in on had been Luke’s lame way of trying to comfort her. Which sounded like Luke, balls on. The younger man viewed sex as a cure-all.
    If Luke had lied, if he
was
hot for Rae, then he and Sam were going to butt heads in a big-ass way. He wouldn’t feel great about kicking the shit out of a family member—literally or figuratively. But he wouldn’t shy from it either. Luke had never made a serious commitment to a woman in his entire life.
    Sam was ready to go all out.

SIX
    Luke woke up the next morning just like every other morning these last few months—alone and broody. He’d bailed on the Cupcake Lovers meeting early. Yes, he was happy for Chloe and Monica—Chloe’s baby would be his niece or nephew and Monica.… Hell, Monica and her husband, Leo, had been trying for a baby for almost a year and then when they stopped trying,
bam,
she’d conceived.
Twins!
Everyone in Sugar Creek had celebrated that news.
    Luke was also thrilled for Rocky and Jayce. Theirs had been a long and stormy relationship. That they’d finally settled in the love zone and were actually getting married was a big deal. He just wasn’t up for hearing the gory details. Who knew his tomboy sister would turn all sappy girly when it came to planning her wedding?
    Overall the night had sucked. His cupcakes had flopped and the Cupcake Lovers had pegged him as